Folding bed.



ATTORNEYJ' .l. 0. 9 1 4| 2 T.. D.. E S D E m1 N E ml. A Dx Rm EB MG AN RI KD L SO U.. 3. 5 .nw 7 6 8 nw N .APPLICATION FILED APR. 16. 1906.

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SAMUEL KRAMER, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

FOLDING BED.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented sept. 24, 1907.

Application filed April 16,1906. Serial No. 312,022.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL KRAMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Beds, of which the following is a specification.

With the increasing use of folding beds it becomes more and more desirable to so construct them as to adapt them for use in different places and with different mechanism for controlling and concealing them.

The object of the present invention is to construct a bedstead that is removable from its support so that it may be used at any point in the room and returned for being folded up or concealed. It also contemplates the construction of the frame or receptacle in such a manner that it can be placed in the wall or closet of a room, or it can be contained within, or form a separate structure that is adapted to be placed within a room as a piece of furniture.

The invention is disclosed in the accompanying drawing in which: v

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of one form of receptacle with the bedstead shown in two positions,

, one of them being dotted. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same, partly in section, the bed being shown in its lowered position in dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a broken sectional view showing the bed pushed back to release the counter balance. Fig. 4 is a broken detail view of part of the support for the bed. Fig. 5 is a broken perspective view of the counter weight. Figs. 6 and 7 are perspective views of one of the legs of the bed in two positions, a portion of the bed being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 8 is a broken perspective of the head of the bed, showing a modification.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 indicates the. frame or outside portion of the receptacle for the bedstead or frame 2, which is adapted to be upturned therein, as shown in dotted linesrin Fig. 1.

The frame 1 may be located within or made a part of a closet, or of a recess or cavity in the wall of a building, or it may be formed as an article of furniture that can be placed in any desired position in a room.

Suspended within the frame 1 preferably by means of the cross pieces 3, is a rectangular swing-like support 4, upon the lower portion of which one end of the bedstead is adapted to be removably placed for the purpose of being upturned for concealing it. When the sup# port is provided with a cross bar, as shown at 5, it isarranged to normally hang at such a distance above the floor that it will just pass under the ends of the side rails v6 of the bedstead or frame 2, and at such a distance in front of the rear wall 7 of the supporting frame 1, that when the end of the bedstead, preferably the head 8, is close to said wall, the cross bar 5 will be resting upon the bar 5 as upon a pivot.

against the legs 9 ef the bedstead, said legs being set back from said end a distance substantially equal to the distance from the cross bar to the floor, or a trilie less.

With such a structure, when the bed is lowered into its extended position, as for use, it can be drawn out of the support and away from the swing 4 to any part of the room, the posts or legs being provided with the usual rollers or casters for that purpose. After use the bed is returned to the support with the end havingthe offset legs passing just above the cross bar of the swing. The other end of the bed is then lifted up which will cause the portions of the side rails 6 to rest upon the cross bar, and with the legs adjacent thereto, turn As the head board engages with the rear wall of the support when the bed is being turned up in this manner the lower end of the swing will move forward until the bed is in its vertical position which will cause the center of grayity of the bed to fall between the cross bar and the rear wall, thereby assisting in holding the bed in its vertical position. The length of the swing is preferably adjustable, as by forming it from two substantially U shaped pieces that are adapted to be adjustably se.. cured together by screws 10 which pass through slots ll in one,of them and into a hole in the other one. This permits of the cross bar being adjusted vertically to adapt it for use with beds of different heights.

To assist in raising or lowering the bed a counterbalance, preferably in the form of a counter-weight l2, is arranged adjacent to the rear wall 7, in position to be engaged by or be disengaged from the head board 8. The counter-balance is preferably mounted to move freely within guide ways 13, the upper ends of which are provided with shoulders 14, upon which the balance is adapted to rest when the bed is extended or removed from the support. The upper ends of the guides are inclined and may be formed integrally with or separately from the lower part as desired and are adapted to engage with the upper edge of the balance and prevent its tipping forward when the lower edge is moved forward by the headboard onto the shoulders 14. The weight of the balance can be increased or diminished in any desired manner for causing it to substantially equal the weight of the bed.

The lower edge of the bala-nce is shouldered for engaging with the top of the head board, preferably by a plate l5, which is provided with two projections or lips, 16 and 17, between which the top of the head board is adapted to fit, the front lip being narrower' than the rear one. The head board is provided with a rod or bar 18, preferably at the top, which is adapted to fit within the recess formed by said lips 16 and 17. The lower edge of the counter weight is also preferably recessed near each end as shown at 19 to lit the posts of the head board when the bed is standing in its vertical position.

When the bed stands in its vertical position the lower ends of its legs or posts 9 and 24 stand just inside the door 2O ofthe closet or other receptacle for the bed, and when it is placed within a closet, one or more of the legs are preferably hinged or pivotally connected with the side rails so that it can be folded up or turned out of the way and thereby give more room at one side of the bed for passing into or out of the closet.

In the drawings the hinge or pivot is shown as comprising a substantially rectangular casting 2l two sides of which are each provided with a slot 22, and one side is extended as at 23 for securing-it to the side rail of the bedstead. One end of the leg such as the leg 24 in Figs. 6 and 7 fits within the casting and has pins 25 projecting through the slots which thereby form pivots by means of which the leg can be swung into or out of its operative or supporting position.

If desired the head board 8 may be jointed as shown at 26 in Fig. 8, which will permit of the board being made much higher than couldbe accommodated with a closet or support of ordinary depth or width. In such cases the counter balance is provided with means, as inclined pins 27, for engaging with the extension 28 and lifting it up a trifle when the bed is being raised to cause pins 29 in the ends of the extension to move to the `top of slots 30 in the casting 26, which will let the bed be moved from the horizontal to its vertical position without changing the relative position of the extension except to move it up and down with the counter balance. When the bed is drawn forward the eX- tension is moved off the inclined pins which will permit the pins 29 to inove to the bottom of the slots 3() and thereby lock the extension rigidly to the top of the head board.

When the bed is standing in its vertical position the bed clothes are preferably suspended from the foot board in any suitable manner, as by clamps which hold them at a suflcient distance apart to let the air, as from a window 3l in the side of the closet, circulate freely between them. The door or closure for the closet or support may slide or be hinged in the usual manner, and be as ornamental as desired, or it may be a picture or even a curtain which can be moved out of the way when the bed is to be extended.

To cause the bed to properly position itself relatively to the swing when being pushed into the support, rails 32 are secured to the floor so as to approach each other at the rear ends and engage with the legs and crowd them over one way or the other as the case may be. And instead of making only one leg foldable, more of them can be so arranged, and the same form of leg can be applied to other forms of bed, as at the foot of folding beds, in which case the leg can be drawn out to unlock it and permit it to hang free when the bed is folded, but when the bed is lowered the legs will stand at right angles thereto and when they are forced into the casting by the weight of the bed the pins move up in the slot and thereby lock the leg rigidly in its supporting position.

By constructing the bed and its support as above described the bed can be made from any suitable material, as wood, brass, iron or steel, or partly oi wood and partly of metal, and it can be easily raised or lowered and moved out of the receptacle to the place it is to be used and back again, the inclined rails assisting in the latter movement by guiding the bed into its proper position within the receptacle. When the bed is being placed in the receptacle the legs are ut a distance from the cross bar when the head engages with the counter-balance, as shown in Fig. l, but when it reaches the limit of its inward movement, as shown in Fig. 3, the legs engage with the cross bar by the time the counter-balance has been pushed ofi the shoulders I4 ready to assist in raising the bed.

If desired, the pivot point of the swing may be located in advance of the position shown in the drawings so that in pushing the bed back into the position for elevating it that end will be elevated, alter which it can be raised into its vertical position. And by fastening that end of the bed to the swing, when the bed is drawn out after having been lowered into its horizon tal position the head will swing down to a point directly under the pivot of the swing and will then be elevated by the further forward movement ol the swing until the bed reaches lthe forward limit of its movement when it can be automatically locked in any desired manner, not shown, and the bed will stand in a horizontal position.

Other changes in shapes, size and particular construction can be made as the drawings are only for `the purpose of illustration of principles and are not exact as to proportions and dimensions, the invention being correctly set forth in the accompanying claims.

What I claim isz- 1. In combination, a swing-like support formed from two substantially U shaped hails, the ends of which are adapted to be secured together, the ends of one bail being slotted, a counter-balance, and a bed, one end of which is adapted to be detachably connected with the swing and with the counter-balance.

2. In combination, means for supporting a bed in a vertical position, a vertical movable counter-balance adapted to detachably engage with the head of the bed, and means for supporting said balance in its elevated position independently of the bed.

3. In combination, a receptacle provided with shoulders, a vertically movable counter-balance adapted to engage with said shoulders when in its elevated position, and :i support for detachably holding a bed in position for engaging with the counter-balance when the bed is raised or lowered.

4. In combination, a receptacle provided with shouldered guideways, a vertically movable counter-balance within said ways and adapted to engage with said shoulders when in its elevated position, and a swinging support for detachably holding a bed in position for engaging with the counter-balance when the bed is raised or lowered.

5. In combination, a receptacle provided with shouldered guideways, a vertically movable counter-balance within said ways and adapted to engage with said shoulders when in its elevated position, the lower portion of the balance being provided with shoulders, and a swinging support for detachably holding a bed in position for its head to detach ably engage with the counter-balance between said shoulders.

6. In combination, a swinging support, a countcr-bnl ance, a folding bed adapted to be detachably connected with the swing and the balance, and horizontal converging guide rails for causing the bed to properly position itself when being moved into the support,

7. In combination, a receptacle provided with shoul dered guide ways, a counter-balance in said ways adapted to rest on said shoulders, a swinging support, and a bed detachably mounted on said support, the head of the bed being provided with a pivoted extension and adapted l forming part of the bed structure, a counterweight adapted to detachably engage with the countersbalance. to be moved directly by said head board and having a de- 8. In Aa device of the character and for the purpose detachable connection therewith, and a door for the recepscribed, the combination of a receptacle, a bed frame tacle independent of the bed frame.

5 adapted to take a horizontal position wholly or partially In testimony whereof I affix my signature; in presence of 15 outside the receptacle, and a vertical position within said two Witnesses, this 10th day of April 1906. receptacle, rear legs on the bed frame at a distance from SAMUEL KRAMER. its end, a swinging bail suspended in the receptacle and Witnesses: passing beneath the bed frame behind the rear legs, and A. K. DAGGETT,

10 from which said bed frame is detachable, a head board T. J. HENDERSON. 

